An extension of the Common Sense Journalism monthly column by Doug Fisher, former broadcaster, newspaper reporter and wire service editor. From new media to old, much of journalism is just plain common sense."In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock." - Unknown (often improperly attributed to Thomas Jefferson)
"It is difficult to get a man to understand something when his salary depends upon his not understanding it." - Upton Sinclair
"Common sense is not so common" - Voltaire
"Common sense is instinct; enough of it is genius" - George Bernard Shaw

Monday, May 19, 2008

You can't spell "high speed" with "U.S."

Excellent article in the Wall Street Journal today (Net Gain) that lays out pretty starkly why high speed Internet service in the U.S. largely - well let's just say it -- sucks.

Unfortunately, the piece by Christopher Rhoads is going to be behind a pay wall for many, so some quick facts and figures:

Average monthly cost per megabit of speed:

U.S. $12.60

Japan $3.09, France $3.70, U.K. $5.29 (selected prices)

Percentage of households with broadband

U.S. 57%

South Korea 93%, Iceland 83%, Switzerland 74% (selected countries)

Average broadband download speeds

U.S. 4.9 Megabits/sec.

Average of 21 countgries 9.2 Mbs

Japan 63.6, S. Korea 49.5, Canada 7.6, Germany 6.0, U.K. 2.6

As Rhoads points out, upload speeds, which are critical for high-tech businesses and research, are even slower -- far slower -- in the U.S.

The article is built around the attempt by Chattanooga to lay its own fiber-optic system, part of which already is in place and brings vastly higher speeds to some local businesses. Comcast has sued the city to stop the project, arguing that it is an unfair cross-subsidy and use of taxpayer money.

Both Comcast and AT&T say they are improving their networks. Check it out:

A Comcast spokeswoman says the company recently increased its speeds for small businesses to 16 megabits a second in many markets, including in Chattanooga, and upload speeds to two megabits.

AT&T (the other major provider in Chattanooga) says it now offers small businesses a download speed of six megabits a second, and upload of 512 kilobits a second.

Imagine, just imagine, what newspapers and TV stations might be facing if the U.S. had speeds as in much of the rest of the developed world. If they haven't sent the cable and telcom companies flowers, they should. Then they should get very scared and very busy because these speeds will come -- eventually.

The telcom and cable companies have explanations -- other countries are more densely populated, for instance, and so it's cheaper to serve them. Verizon and AT&T are rolling out very high speed fiber in some cities and Comcast is moving toward a much faster system, but it is too little and too slow if we don't want to watch the rest of the world speed by.

Verizon's top speed of 30 Mbs down and 15 Mbs up will set you back $140/month. That's still $9.33 per Mbs. AT&T's top speed is 10 Mbps up and 1.5 down. It's hard to figure a price since AT&T is bundling it with various TV services in packages that range from $77 per month to more than $132. (Let's assume the lowest cost and next-to-highest speed of 6 Mbs, which is probably unrealistic since prices start at $77 -- but that's still $12.83 per Mbs. And using the entirely unrealistic highest-speed, lowest price comparison, that's still $7.70.)

The cost remains a huge barrier. As noted here back in January, at least one group (in Louisville) has cited high telecommunications costs as one of the contributing factors to the home foreclosure mess.

Yes, I do coaching and consulting. That is the only shameless commerce you'll get from me here. Go to the bottom of the blog for more details.
Who am I: A longtime print and broadcast reporter/editor/producer and then AP news editor who now professes journalism at the University of South Carolina. (But please note, nothing on this blog represents official university policy or sentiment. If it did, I'd be very concerned.)My point: That journalism is a great occupation, that most journalism is common sense and that our problems arise when we sometimes don't use it.What's covered: My interests center on editing and writing and on editors and the challenges they face in a changing environment. I'm convinced editors are not being trained enough to face these challenges, but that common sense rules the day. I'm heavily involved in Newsplex, the new-media newsroom at the University of South Carolina. But my interests are wide-ranging, so anything, from ethics to some aspects of Web design, is fair game.
Hope you find something here worthwhile.

Common Sense Journalism &nbspYes, I do seminars and consulting. Among those I have worked with are the SNPA Traveling Campus, S.C. Press Association, N.Y. Press Association, Georgia Press Association, Mississippi Press Association, Virginia Press Association, Landmark Community Newspapers, American Copy Editors Society, Society of Professional Journalists, Lancaster (S.C.) News, The (Rock Hill, S.C.) Herald, The (Sumter, S.C.) Item, the Internal Revenue Service and the Social Security Administration. Contact me for more information.